Gastrointestinal nematode infection in beef cattle raised in silvopastoral and conventional systems in São Paulo state, Brazil.

The use of silvopastoral systems (SPS) can be a good alternative to reduce the environmental impacts of livestock breeding in Brazil. Despite the advantages offered by public policies, many producers hesitate to use this system. One of the reasons is the lack of information on health and productivity of cattle raised under these conditions. The experiment reported here was designed to compare the behavior of infection by gastrointestinal nematodes and weight gain of beef cattle raised in a SPS and a conventional pasture system. We monitored the number of eggs per gram of feces, the prevalent nematode genus, data on climate, forage availability, weight gain and packed cell volume (PCV) of the animals bred in the two systems. The infection by nematodes was significantly higher in the cattle raised in the SPS (p\0.05). The coprocultures revealed the presence of nematodes of the genera Haemonchus, Cooperia, Oesophagostomum and Trichostrongylus, in both systems, but the mean infestation rates of Haemonchus and Cooperia were higher in the SPS (p\0.05). The average of PCV values did not differ between the cattle in the two systems. The individual weight gain and stocking rate in the period did not vary between the systems (p[0.05). Despite the higher prevalence of nematodes in the SPS, no negative impact was detected on the animals? weight gain and health. The results of this experiment indicate that under the conditions studied, there is no need to alter the parasite management to assure good productive performance of cattle

Screening of the 'pathogen box' identifies an approved pesticide with major anthelmintic activity against the barber's pole worm

There is a substantial need to develop new medicines against parasitic diseases via public-private partnerships. Based on high throughput phenotypic screens of largely protozoal pathogens and bacteria, the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) has recently assembled an open-access 'Pathogen Box' containing 400 well-curated chemical compounds. In the present study, we tested these compounds for activity against parasitic stages of the nematode Haemonchus contortus (barber's pole worm). In an optimised, whole-organism screening assay, using exsheathed third-stage (xL3) and fourth-stage (L4) larvae, we measured the inhibition of larval motility, growth and development of H. contortus. We also studied the effect of the 'hit' compound on mitochondrial function by measuring oxygen consumption. Among the 400 Pathogen Box compounds, we identified one chemical, called tolfenpyrad (compound identification code: MMV688934) that reproducibly inhibits xL3 motility as well as L4 motility, growth and development, with IC50 values ranging between 0.02 and 3 μM. An assessment of mitochondrial function showed that xL3s treated with tolfenpyrad consumed significantly less oxygen than untreated xL3s, which was consistent with specific inhibition of complex I of the respiratory electron transport chain in arthropods. Given that tolfenpyrad was developed as a pesticide and has already been tested for absorption, distribution, excretion, biotransformation, toxicity and metabolism, it shows considerable promise for hit-to-lead optimisation and/or repurposing for use against H. contortus and other parasitic nematodes. Future work should assess its activity against hookworms and other pathogens that cause neglected tropical diseases.

Resumos...

Ação antibacteriana in vitro de extratos vegetais de plantas do Bioma Pampa; Adubação nitrogenada na produção de Tifton 85; Análise funcional da congruência de marcadores SNPs entre estudos de associação genômica ampla para a característica de resistência de bovinos ao carrapato Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus; Avaliação de capim-sudão BRS Estribo quando manejado por altura e pastejado por vacas em lactação; Avaliação de carcaças de animais da raça Charolês e de suas cruzas: dados parciais; Avaliação de genótipos de azevém na região da Campanha gaúcha; Avaliação de genótipos de Dactylis glomerata na região da Campanha gaúcha; Avaliação de Panicum maximum em Bagé - RS; Avaliação do crescimento e desenvolvimento de capim-sudão BRS Estribo sob diferentes disponibilidades hídricas; Avaliação do emprego da termografia em estimativas de carga parasitária de Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus em bovinos; Avaliação in vivo da atividade anti-helmíntica de Senecio brasiliensis e de Acacia mearnsii em ovinos experimentalmente infectados; Comparação da resposta humoral de bovinos da raça Braford resistentes e sensíveis ao Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus submetidos a infestações artificiais; Comportamento ingestivo de bovinos de corte em pastagem natural com diferentes níveis de intensificação; Descrição e evolução da infestação do capim-annoni utilizando o método de interceptação na linha; Desempenho de terneiros(as) das raças Angus e Braford em diferentes propriedades de pecuaristas familiares do Rio Grande do Sul; Dessecação na linha: implicações na produção de sorgo forrageiro no Método Integrado para Recuperação de Pastagens - Mirapasto; Dessecação na linha: implicações no estabelecimento de plantas forrageiras no Método Integrado para Recuperação de Pastagens - Mirapasto; Efeito do tempo de secagem e análise sequencial sobre a determinação de fdn e fda em forragens utilizando bolsas de filtro Efeito in vitro de extratos vegetais sobre a inibição da migração de larvas infectantes de Haemonchus contortus